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John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook ( all born 1945 ) met at Portola Junior High School in El Cerrito, California and began playing instrumentals and " juke box standards " together under the name The Blue Velvets.

The trio also backed singer Tom Fogerty — John Fogerty's older brother by three years — at live gigs and in the recording studio.

By 1964, the band had signed to Fantasy Records, an independent jazz label based in San Francisco at the time.

Fantasy had released Cast Your Fate to the Wind, a national hit for jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi.

The record's success was the subject of a National Educational Television TV special, which prompted budding songwriter John Fogerty to contact the label.

For the band's first release, however, Fantasy co-owner Max Weiss renamed the group the Golliwogs ( after the children's literary character, Golliwogg ), apparently to cash in on a wave of popular British bands with similar names.